chicago



L. WISBROD Dec. 10, 1929.

ARMOR Filed Feb. 1, 1928 eme u '10, 1929 UNITED s'rA'r s PATENT OFFICE LOUIS WISIBROD, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ABSIGNOB 'IO. CHICAGO ABHOB CORPORATION,

' OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 01 ILLINOIS v AJBIOB Application fled February 1, 1928.. Serial ll'o. 250,971.

The present invention relates generally to body armor. More particularly the invention relates to armor or bullet-proof vests which are adapted primarily for use by policemen, bank messengers, paying tellers, watchmen and other such individuals.

Heretofore, vests of this character have been made with plates of comparatively thick steel which are suitably arranged so as to rotect the vital organs of the wearer. ile these vests have proved to beieflicient in effectively withstanding bullets, they are impractical because they are extreme y heavy, and the body is usually bruised when the vest is hit due to the fact that thesteel plates are not resilient and transmit the shock of the bullet directly to the body. In other in-' stances the vests have been formed of sections consisting each of a plurality of steel strips which are suitably held together in abutting relation. Although the sections are somewhat resilient they are not sufficiently so to avoid shocking the body. Furthermore they are heavy which results in the vest being a burden to the wearer and the joints between them either prevent the vest from being easily flexed when arranged in its operative position about the wearer or do not prevent the bullets from penetrating.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a vest which is eflicient and is an improvement upon vests of former constructions in that it is comparatively light and does not shock or bruise the b0 when hit by bullets. In general, the armor sections of the vest consist of series of vertically extend-, ing spring steel strips which overlap each other at the side margins thereof. These strips are made of substantially the same resiliency as the human body and are adapted to cooperate with the latter to dissi ate the shock of and cushion the bullets. ecause the plates are held in overla ped relation the sections may be flexed wit ease and since usually two series of strips are used one in front of the other, a double overlap is provided which effectively prevents the entry of bullets striking the vest at an angle.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a bullet-proof vest of the aforementioned :ype in which the sections at the front part are overlapped and slidable vertically relatively to each other so that forward bending movement of the wearer is not impaired.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a vest of armor in which the section orming the back and sides is detachabl connected to the remainder of the vest an supported independently thereof so that it may be dispensed with if so desired or used alone.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vest in which the armored sections are held in close contact with the body of the wearer by means of resilient or elastic connections.

A still further object of the invention is to provide body armor which is of new and improved construction, is light and comfortable when worn, and may be manufactured at a comparatively low and reasonable cost.

. Other objects will be manifestfrom a consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in'the several novel features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by the claims at the'conclusion hereof.

ereof are arranged one above the other and In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification and in which like numerals of reference denote correspondingr parts throughout the several views:

igure 1 is a perspective of the vest proper, that 1s, the main and front part of a vest effibodying the invention; c

Figure 2 is a perspective of the detachable and independent back and side part;

Figure 3 is a. rear view of the front part,

made on a comparatively small scale;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective of one of the armored sections used in the Pa Figure 5 is a sec or bullet-proof vest comprising a vest part a 10 and a back member 11 which is supported front part, made on a at one independently of the vest part and is detachably connected thereto as hereinafter described so that it may be used together with the vest part or dispensed with when so desired. The vest part consists of a front member 12 and a back 13 which are connected together by a pair of shoulder straps 14. The front member 12, as well as the back 13 and shoulder straps, is preferably formed of cloth and is cut or tailored in the manner usually employed in connection with vests. Pockets 15 areformed in the side pieces 12 of the front member 12 and these pieces are connected together by a vertical series of'buttons 16 and have their upper ends shaped to form a V-shaped opening 17 for accommodating the neck of the wearer, as well understood in he art.

Secured to the inner face of the front member 12 are a pair of armored sections 18 and 19 which are arranged one above the other and are of such areas that the uppermost one covers and protects the-chest region of the wearer while the lowermost section covers the lower or abdominal region. Each section comprises a horizontal row or series of vertically extending spring steel strips 21 and a similar row 22 which is positioned directly behind the row 20 and is coextensive therewith. The strips of each row are of substantially the same dimensions and lap each other side thereof, as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, so that they form a continuous armored surface. The lapped area of each strip is approximately equal to one half its entire area and since two rows of strips are used in each section a double overlap arrangement occurs which effectively prevents the entry of bullets striking the vest at an an le. The strips 21 are speciallytempered so t at their resiliency is substantially e ual to the softness of the human body wit the result that they cooperate with the latter to cushion and take u the shock of the bullets striking the vest. ecause of the lapped arrangement, a plurality of strips are brou ht into operation each time the vest is hit. T is distributes the impact or shock of the bullet over a comparatively large resilient or cushioning area with the result that the body. is not bruised. Should the strips 21 rust or corrode'from moisture or perspiration, they would lose their temper and correct resiliency and consequently would not be effective in avoiding penetration; To avoid this the strips are plated with copper or any other suitable material.

The front row ,20 of each section is held in place against a front piece 23 b means of a orizontal series of strips 24. ach of these strips has one of the side margins thereof sewed or otherwise secured to the front piece 23 and the other side margin sewed to the central portion of the back side of the adjoining or contiguous strip 24 to form an elongated pocket 25 in which oneof the spring steel stri s 21 is tightly held. The strips 24 and the ront piece 23 are preferably formed of cloth and together exemplify means for individually holding the armored strips of the front row 20 in their overlapped and operative position. The armored strips of the back row are held in place in a similar manner by means of a front piece 26 and strips 27 which are sewed together and to said front piece in a manner similar to that employed in connectionwith the front row to form individual overlapped pockets 28. The side margins of the pieces 23v and 26 and the outermost strips 24 and 27 are sewed together, as shown in Figure 5, so that the sections are unitary in character. The uppermost section ,18 is sewed or stitched to the upper part of the front member 12 in such a manner that the bottom part is free. The lowermost section 19 is sewed or stitched to the lower part of said front member and is arranged so that the up r margin thereof laps t e lower margin 0 the section 18 and extends between it and the side pieces 12*. Since the bottom part of the uppermost section 18 is free, the sections may slide vertically relatively to each other in response to forward bendin movement of the wearer. In addition to a ording comfort, the sliding or overlapped connection prevents bullets from passing between the sections. The top part of the section 18 is ada ted to cover the chest of the wearer, and altliough it extends between the V-shaped margins of the side members 12, it is not conspicuous or unsightly because the front iece 23 is made of cloth and is preferably 0 the same material as the side pieces 12. A pocket 29 is sewed to the back side of uppermost section 18, for retaining articles of value.

The back 13 of the vest part 10 is formed separately from the front member 12 and the top portion thereof is removably secured to the shoulder stra s 14 by buttons 30. The side margins of t e back are provided with elastic straps 31, the distal ends of which are connected to elastic straps 32 by means of quickly detachable fasteners comprising socket members 33 and hook members 34. The straps 32 have their front ends-fixed to the side margins of the side pieces 12. The

stra s 31, together with the straps 32 exemp 'fy spring or resilient connections between the separately formed back and the front member 12 which operate to hold the armored sections 18 and 19 in close contact with the body of the wearer; This is 'of great importance as far as the efiiciency of the vest is concerned because of the fact that the strips 21 cooperate with the body of the wearer in resisting penetration and it is essentialthat a contacting relation exist. The vest art 10 is applied to the wearer by separating the elastic straps 31 and 32 and then slipping the tion.

The back member 11 of the vestis formed similarly to the sections 18 and 19 in that it consists of a horizontal outer row or series 35 of spring steel strips 36 and a similar inner row 37. The strips 36 overla each other and are the same in character as t e strips 21, being of a resiliency substantially equal to the softness of the human body and copper plated to prevent corrosion and rustin The .strips 36 are held in individual poo ets 37 by means of cloth pieces 38 and lapped strips 39 which are similar in character to the strips 24 and 27. The back member 11 is sha ed to fit around and conform to the back an sides of the user and is supported from the shoulders by a pair of straps 40. The side margins are provided with elastic straps 41 which are adapted to be attached to fasteners 42 fixed to the side margins of the side pieces 12. The back member 11 may be worn either inside or outside of the back 13 and is held in close contact with the body by the elastic straps 40. If desired, the back member may be worn separately or independently of the vest part. When it is done, the straps 40 are connected together across the chest of the wearer by any suitable means.

In the use of the vest, a bullet strikm any of the armored sections w1ll be repelle because the force thereof is dissipated and cushioned by the steel strips which are brought into play and cooperate with the body of the wearer. The vest is exceedingly s1mple to manufacture and has proved to be eflicient in operation. It is light and comfortable to the user. Should, for any reason,

one of the spring steel strips becomebroken or injured it may be replaced simply b rippin the margin of the section and w1th rawing 1t from its individual pocket.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified by the sco e of the appended claims, without departing mm the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Body armor consistin of sections,- each section embodying two series of overlapped spring steel strips, arranged one in front of the other, said strips being of substantially the same resiliency as the body of the person on whom the armor is to be worn.

2. Body armor consisting of sections, each section comprisin a row of pairs of spring steel strips, the strlps of each pair being coextensive and arranged face to face, and lap ping respectively the front faces of the contiguous pair, and means for holding the pairs in place. a

3. A section for body armor, row of pairs of metallic strips, each pair bein coextensive and arranged face to face an having portions lapping respectively the front faces of the contiguous pair, and means forming individual retaincomprising a the strips of mg pockets for the strips.

4. A section for body armor, comprising a 1 row of overlapped metallic plates, a piece adjacent and substantially co-extensive with one side of the row, and a series of strips adjacent the other side, said strips extending between the metallic plates respectively and being secured to said piece and toeach other to form individual retaining pockets for the plates.

' 5. An armored vest comprising a front member and a back connected together by shoulder straps and tailored to fit the wearer, bullet-proof sections secured to the inner face of the front member and consisting of series of spring steel strips, said strips being tempered so that their resiliency is substantially equal to that of the human body, and elastic straps extending between and connectin the side margins of said front member and ack and operative to hold yieldingly and firmly the strips against the body of the wearer.

6. An armored vest comprising a front member and a back connected together by shoulder straps and tailored to fit the wearer, bullet-proof sections secured to the inner face of the front member and. consisting of series of spring steel strips, said strips being tempered so that their resiliency is substantially equal to that of the human body, and elastic straps extendin between and connecting the side margins o the front member and back and operative to hold yieldin ly and firmly the stripsagainst the bod of t e wearer, said straps including quickly etachable fastening devices. I

7. An armored vest comprising a front tailored to fit the wearer, bulletroof sections connected to the inner face 0 the front member, and a bullet proof substantially rectangular back member formed as a unit and separately from the front member and back and shaped to extend around the backand sides of the wearer, and means for supporting and securing in place said back member.

armored vest comprising a front member an a back connected together and tailored to fit the wearer, a plurality of bulletproof sections connected to the inner face of the front member, a bullet-proof back member formed se arately from the front member and back and sha ed to extend around the back and sides of t e wearer, said back member embodying a series of spring steel strips, said strips being of substantiall the same resiliency as the human body, an elastic stri s for holding the back member in place un or spring pressure.

,9. $11 armored vest comprising a front member and a back connected together and tailored to fit the wearer a plurality of bulletproof sections connected to the inner face of the front member, a bullet-proof back member formed separately from the front member and back and shaped to extend around the back and sides of the wearer, said back member embodyin a series of spring steel strips, and readi y disconnectible elastic means between and connected to the front member and said back member for holding the latter in place.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 16th day of J uly, 1927.

LOUIS WISBROD. 

